Hi there. Barb and I are going through a severe case of salt water withdrawal and although I promised to only post when we are back aboard or at least close to it, this blog is my surrogate and I simply can't resist.

We are still landbound up in the frozen north although this is a relatively mild winter by comparison to the one that New Ngoand down thought to Virginia has been getting so I guess we should be grateful. We had intended to be back aboard and cruising again by now but the crappy Canadian dollar has made that more painful than our bank account could bear. I was more than a little startled to discover that not only do the Bahamas have a direct tie to the US$ but also so do a number of countries that you would think would be more likely tied to the Euro or something. British protectorates such as Turks and Caicos and the BVIs are two examples.

At any rate our new plan is for a road trip to Florida for a conjugal visit with Nelleke in the spring and a launch this fall come Hell or High water. To that end we have acquired a new to us Westfalia camper to make the trip in some level of comfort and those a in future will be to sail aboard Nelleke do six months during the winter and to explore on dry land during the summer in the Westy.